Ascendancy
by chakragoddess
Summary: One-shot sequel to Avatar: The Story Continues.  Toph/The Duke/Bumi.  Occurs about 2 years after the end of the war.  Avatar and its characters belong to Bryke & Nickelodeon


Toph and Bumi were on the same transport balloon back to the Fire Nation Capital City having completed their task of rebuilding the Avatar's Temple on Crescent Island. Toph, now a full-fledged member of the Order of the White Lotus, wasn't very comfortable talking with this king, despite the fact that he was the one who invited her to become a member of the Order. Of course, she wasn't very chit-chatty anyway, but finding ways to make conversation with a man over 100 years her senior was not her idea of fun.

"So," said Bumi, wanting to make conversation with the young earthbender. "Aang has told me so much about your earthbending wisdom. He practically gushes every time he talks about you being his Sifu."

_I guess there is one subject I never get sick of talking about_, thought Toph. "Really?" she said. "He wasn't the easiest student, but he did ok. It was like pulling teeth to get him to earthbend that first time."

"How did you get him to do it?" asked Bumi.

"I think what did it was that I took his staff away and started using it as a nutcracker. He got so fed up after about a day that he finally stood up to me. In the heat of an argument, he let out all his frustration and moved a gigantic boulder about 30 feet," said Toph.

"Great tactic," said Bumi. "Did he ever tell you what I did to him when he came to visit me the first time after he came out of the iceberg?"

"No, come to think of it, he didn't. Weren't you guys really good friends growing up though?" asked Toph.

"Yes, we were. But at the time we hadn't seen each other for about a hundred years. He had no idea who I was, but I immediately recognized him," said Bumi.

"Because he hadn't changed, right?" said Toph.

"Exactly. So I made him perform three 'deadly' challenges," said Bumi.

"_Made_ him? How'd you do that?" asked Toph.

"Katara and Sokka were with him and I gave them each a ring of creeping crystal," answered Bumi.

"Jennomite?" said Toph with a bit of a laugh in her voice. "You _didn't_!"

"I did. It got Aang to fight me in the end," said Bumi.

"How'd he do?" asked Toph.

"Surprisingly well," said Bumi. "For an airbender. Of course, he could kick either of our butts now, but back then, he only knew airbending. He tried to do his avoid and evade typical airbender strategy. But I called him on it and he got better really quick. He even created a giant tornado and redirected a huge piece of stone I hurled at him."

Toph laughed. Bumi then laughed. After the slow start, they were now definitely enjoying each others' company. _He's not so bad after all_, she thought to herself.

"So tell me about this metalbending thing that you do," said Bumi. "You are the only earthbender I've ever heard of doing this."

"I invented metalbending when I was kidnapped by two goons hired by my parents to capture me. If you want to restrain an earthbender, what do you typically do?" asked Toph.

"Well, normally, they lock you up in a metal box," answered Bumi.

"That's _exactly_ what they did. For the last few years though, whenever I touched a piece of metal, I could feel the earth that was part of it. I could never bend it before though," said Toph.

"That's impressive. I bet half the earthbenders out there couldn't feel the earth in metal if their lives depended on it," said Bumi.

"Being blind probably helps me. My other senses are better because of it," said Toph. "So I concentrated on the metal and felt the pieces of earth in the casing. One punch was all it took."

"You are quite the earthbender, little one," remarked Bumi. "Where are you going once you get to the Fire Nation Capital City?"

"I have friends waiting for me in the Earth Kingdom. I left them near Omashu. They should still be there," said Toph.

"Omashu? We should travel back there together. I have a ship already lined up," said Bumi.

Toph nodded her agreement.

OlOlOlOlOlO

The king and the metalbender became pretty good friends during the brief time they spent traveling together. Once they arrived at Omashu, Toph went to the nearby town that housed her friends, Pipsqueak and the The Duke, and took Bumi up on his offer to spend a few weeks in Omashu. He was smart enough to know that though he considered himself the best earthbender in the world, that this young girl could easily give him a run for his money. He thought it would be to their mutual benefit to train together – even if it was just for a few days – to teach and learn moves from one another. Bumi especially was interested in trying Toph's metalbending techniques – something no other earthbender had been able to accomplish in all of history.

Early one morning, Toph and Bumi met in the practice arena. This was the same arena where he and Aang once dueled all those years ago. He had a box made out of metal brought to the edge of the ring.

They spent a few hours throwing maneuvers at one another to see if the other one had ever used it before. For the most part, nothing new was shared or learned – though they did have a good time trying to one up each other.

At the end of their session, Bumi walked over to the metal box and opened up a small door on one side. He entered the box and closed the door behind him.

"Now Toph, how exactly do you do this?" he asked.

"Put your hands on the metal in front of you. Shut out all sounds and all light. Concentrate on the metal that is touching your hand. _Feel_ the pieces of earth in the metal," said Toph.

Bumi did as he was instructed. All was quiet for a few minutes as he concentrated on the metal.

Finally Toph interjected, "Do you feel it?"

"No – not really," said Bumi. "Maybe it will come to me over time."

"We can try again tomorrow," said Toph.

The two friends went upstairs to get a bite to eat for lunch.

Pipsqueak and The Duke were already in the dining room. Toph had introduced them to Bumi when the three of them first arrived back at Omashu. After a few quips and jokes from around the room, everyone broke down laughing. They were going to get along famously.

Toph excused herself after she was done with lunch to go back to her room to freshen up. The men were still busy stuffing their faces.

Bumi took this chance to question The Duke about a few things that he had learned back in the Fire Nation regarding Toph.

"So Duke," started Bumi.

"It's _The_ Duke," said The Duke.

"Very original," remarked Bumi. "Ok, _The _Duke…tell me why you and Pipsqueak having been spending so much time with Toph over the last year or so."

"Don't look at me. She came and found us right after Zuko's wedding. She's been traveling with us ever since," said The Duke.

"Did she say why she came to find you?" asked Bumi.

"I think she likes me - that's the short answer," said The Duke. "She's been my buddy ever since the Day of Black Sun. I like her, too, but I'm not ready to go anywhere with it yet," he said matter-of-factly.

"What's the not-so-short answer?" asked Bumi.

The Duke didn't know how much he should disclose to this relatively new person in his life. But Bumi seemed like he was asking for a reason – and he probably had Toph's best interests at heart.

"First of all, you have her parents and her home in Gaoling. She never wants to go back there. Even after seeing her immense talent with earthbending, they still want to treat her like a blind, helpless little girl," said The Duke.

"I see," said Bumi.

"And all of her other friends – as much as she loves them and cares about them – they've all got their own responsibilities now. They're all married and most have children. Other than Aang, who I might add is the Avatar and is super-mature for his age; she's the youngest and isn't interested in settling down quite yet. She's having a lot of fun on the road with us."

The gears in Bumi's brain were beginning to turn. Nothing was said for the next few minutes. "Thank you, The Duke, for being so frank and honest with me."

OlOlOlOlOlO

"C'mon The Duke, I want to get home before its dark. I have to get up early tomorrow," said Toph to her traveling companion.

"Wait up!" was the reply from behind.

Toph decided that today was the she wanted to take a field trip. A long time ago, Aang and she had a long conversation as they were camping before the end of the war. He told her about some of his travels before they met her. There was this cave, called the Cave of Two Lovers, that he, Katara and Sokka had gone through a few months before. What caught Toph's attention was the story of Oma and Shu. Aang said that their tomb was inside. Toph had never heard of any other person who learned their earthbending from badgermoles. They were the original earthbenders and the stories Aang told reminded Toph of herself. She wanted to visit this place and see what it was all about for herself.

She and The Duke found it with little difficulty. It was exactly where Aang said it would be. There was a single road between it and Omashu, so getting lost was nearly impossible.

The Duke looked into the dark tunnel. "I don't like the look of that," he said, getting out one of the three torches he brought with him.

"Don't worry, you have me," said Toph, implying her earthbending could sense not only the correct pathways to take, but also any other creepy-crawlies that might be in there. She grabbed him by the hand and led him inside.

As soon as the daylight faded into blackness, The Duke made a movement to light his first torch.

"Don't," said Toph. "Wait just a second…"

"What?" he asked.

"Just keep walking," said Toph.

They only took a few steps more when a green glow started to shine down on them from ahead of them.

"Toph, what is that?" The Duke asked.

"What is what?" Toph asked back. "I'm blind, dummy."

The Duke rolled his eyes having heard that one about a million times since he and Toph started traveling together. "It's a greenish light from up ahead."

"That is what I was waiting to hear. Aang told me that when there are no lights on in the cave, there is a green glow from crystals in the ceiling. Do you think that is what you're seeing?" asked Toph.

They took a few steps more. "Oh Toph, they're beautiful," said The Duke.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," she said. "Follow the path, there's something I want to see."

The Duke led Toph along the lighted trail for a while. That's when he noticed what looked to be a round opening in the rock. It looked like a door had once been on the opening, but that it was now missing.

"The door's just open," said Toph. "It opens to the inside. Let's go in."

"Are you sure?" The Duke asked. It's a little….creepy."

"Aang told me all about this place. There's nothing to worry about. This is just where Oma and Shu are," said Toph.

"Who?" The Duke asked.

"Oma and Shu," said Toph. "That's why I wanted to come here."

"I thought you just wanted to do some cave exploring," said The Duke. "You didn't say anything about visiting anyone."

"Well, they're kind of….dead," said Toph. "So we're not really visiting anyone."

"Gross!" said The Duke.

"I thought you might get weirded out. That's why I didn't tell you. Aang and Katara came through here a few years ago and told me about how Oma and Shu were the two original earthbenders. They learned to earthbend from the badgermoles….just like me! I just wanted to see what was here. So it _is_ kind of like cave exploring."

Toph pulled The Duke into the tomb. The crystals still lit the area so The Duke didn't have to light a torch. They looked all around them, amazed at the statues and carvings.

"Wow," said The Duke. "This is really pretty."

Toph didn't say anything, amazed by everything she could see with her seismic sense.

"Love is brightest in the dark," said The Duke, reading one of the carvings out loud.

"They were just like me," said Toph, suddenly feeling reverence towards these individuals.

Toph sat down on a step inside the tomb. The Duke sat next to her. He grabbed her hand. She smiled.

"They must have really been something," said The Duke.

"I admire them. They found a way to still love each other though they were from warring villages. She could have wiped them completely out for killing her true love, yet she chose to end the war and help build a city instead. _And_ they were the first earthbenders," said Toph.

The Duke looked down at his hand in Toph's. Then he looked at her face.

The next thing Toph felt was The Duke's lips meet hers for a quick peck on the mouth.

"What did you do that for?" she asked.

"I wanted to try it," The Duke said. "How was it?"

"Actually, it kind of sucked," she replied.

He got up in a huff. "Sooorrrrry!" he exclaimed.

"No! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" said Toph. "Sometimes when I'm nervous I...get like that. Please, sit down!"

The Duke thought for a moment and sat down.

This time Toph leaned into him and gave him a gentle peck on the lips. They broke for just a second before feeling the need to lean in again to try a deeper kiss for the very first time."

"How was that?" The Duke asked again.

"Really nice," said Toph, smiling.

OlOlOlOlOlO

The Duke and Toph did make it back to Omashu before dark that evening. Toph wanted to be rested and ready for the training session schedule with Bumi the next morning.

She dressed and walked out to the earthbending ring right on time. She waited five…ten… fifteen minutes. Bumi didn't come. Finally, Toph left the ring and started heading towards the private area of the palace. She finally came across a guard in one of the hallways.

"I was supposed to meet King Bumi for a training session this morning, but he never came. Do you happen to know where he is?" she asked the guard.

The guard looked down at Toph and kind of put his hands up and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, _I have no idea_.

She felt the gestures he was making. "Well, would you mind getting off your butt and finding him?" said Toph a little more urgently.

The guard rolled his eyes and walked back towards Bumi's bedroom. Toph just stood there waiting for _something _to happen.

The guard came into view again and ran right past Toph.

"What's going on?" she shouted. But there was no answer.

She walked in the direction where the guard had just run. That's when three more people appeared and ran back towards Bumi's bedroom.

"What _is_ going on?" she repeated aloud again.

One of the three people, who looked like they were employees of the palace, turned and shouted back at her, "King Bumi isn't waking up!"

A guard and what looked to be a doctor ran by Toph again going towards Bumi's bedroom.

"Screw it!" she shouted and ran towards the bedroom as well.

When she got there, she saw the muscular old man in his bed lying there with his eyes closed. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he was just peacefully sleeping.

The doctor pulled out a stethoscope device from his bag and put the end piece to Bumi's chest. "I don't hear a heartbeat," he said.

Toph placed her hand on Bumi's chest. "Listen again, there's a beat there."

The doctor tried again to hear his heartbeat. "You're right. It's there, but it's _so _faint." He pulled a syringe out of his bag and injected him.

"What was that?" asked one of the workers.

"This should stabilize his heart," said the doctor. "But it's only temporary. It will wear off in a few hours."

The people in the room watched the doctor perform a complete examination on King Bumi. Finally, he appeared to be done. "What now?" asked Toph.

"I'm afraid I don't think he's going to be with us much longer," said the doctor. "His heart is weak. Perhaps he had an attack of the heart in his sleep last night, but I fear it is not recoverable. My injection will help, but only for a while. I can come back and give him more when he needs more."

"How long does he have?" asked one of the guards.

"Oh, I'd say at least a day...but not more than a week," said the doctor. He packed up his things and left the room.

OlOlOlOlOlO

Toph went back to her friends and told them what was going on. They talked for a while about how they were about to lose someone so significant to the world and how much they enjoyed his company over the past couple of weeks.

Toph and The Duke went for a walk around the city to ease their worried minds. Toph wasn't so close to Bumi that she felt she should be at his bedside, but really didn't know what to do with herself either…other than wait….for what, she wasn't quite sure.

They re-entered the palace and a guard ran up to her. "King Bumi is awake and he is asking for you." Toph and the guard hurried back to Bumi's bedroom.

"Ah, Toph," said a sitting Bumi as the blind earthbender walked in. Toph noted that he looked almost back to normal again, though confined to his bed. "I'm afraid I'm not long for this world, young lady and I need to get my affairs in order before I 'check out' for good."

Toph was unsure what to say. _Sorry you're going to die_? or _See you later?_ Finally, she just settled on, "Ok."

Bumi was scribbling some stuff on papers in front of him. Toph just stood there in silence. Finally, he finished writing and handed the papers off to one of the guards. "These scrolls need to get out as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," said the guard as he turned and walked out of the room.

"What were those?" asked Toph.

"Those are the scrolls I am sending to a few of my friends outside of Omashu saying 'good-bye'," said Bumi. "But this," he said as he lifted up a final piece of paper, "is what I need to talk to you about."

Toph heard the sound of the paper and assumed there must have been something interested written on there that he wanted to share. "What's on the paper?" she asked.

"This is me signing over Omashu….to you," said Bumi.

Toph didn't think she heard that quite right. "_What?_"

"You heard me. I'm signing over Omashu to you, Miss Toph Bei Fong," said Bumi.

"But how does that _work?_" she asked. "You're a king, don't you have to…pass it down to your kid or something?"

"I don't have kids," Bumi said. "And besides, there really is only one king in the Earth Kingdom – the one in Ba Sing Se. The title here is merely honorary. It is my job to take care of this city and ensure its prosperity any way I see fit. Well, I see fit to make you the new _Queen_ of Omashu. And this document will make it official."

"Why me?" asked Toph.

"Let's just say that I've been following your progress since the end of the war. I know what you do and how you are as a person. You are a great earthbender – one of the greatest in the world. You helped end a raging war. You are good friends with other leaders in the world as well as the Avatar. And perhaps most importantly, you have demonstrated to me that you yourself are a leader and are capable of caring for my precious city."

"I don't know what to say," said Toph.

"How about 'Bumi, I'll do my best to make you proud?'" said Bumi.

"Bumi, I'll do my best to make you proud!" said Toph with tears in her eyes as she hugged the old man.


End file.
